NEW YORK—Sentimentality rarely has mixed as intimately with raw intensity as it did Friday night at Madison Square Garden, when Syracuse and Georgetown met for the final time as members of the Big East.

The emotions cascading down from the sellout crowd—listed at 20,057 screaming fans—were deafening. Former stars from both teams sat courtside and pleaded along with every other ticket-buying fan. Every dribble and every pass, every shimmy and every shake elicited a reaction from those in attendance.

“I mean, it's Syracuse,” Georgetown All-American forward Otto Porter said. “Anybody from Georgetown will tell you that they don't like them. It's the best rivalry in college basketball. They're going to let you know right away.”

But this game, a 58-55 overtime victory for Syracuse—of course this one went to overtime—wasn’t just about the end of a rivalry, be it permanent or temporary. Both teams have plenty to play for outside of the Big East Tournament; Georgetown (25-6) is fighting for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and Syracuse needed this experience to remember how to win big games.

“The biggest thing is we came to New York with this year's team, and obviously we had not performed well, and we had a chance in a couple of games (down the stretch) and let them get away,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said. “So we needed to come here and play well. That's what our main concern was.”

With three wins in three days, Syracuse (26-8) has played well. The offense is clicking, finally. James Southerland already has tied the Big East Tournament record with 16 3-pointers, point guard Michael Carter-Williams has 27 assists in the three games, and the bench has been providing offensive production that has often been lacking.

Against Georgetown, reserve Trevor Cooney had 10 huge points in the first half and backup big man Baye Keita had 13 points—including a stunning 7-for-7 effort from the free-throw line for the 48.6 percent free-throw shooter—to go with eight rebounds.

This all feels familiar here in Madison Square Garden.

Last season, Louisville came into the Big East Tournament having lost four of its last six games in the regular season. But the Cardinals won four games in four days to claim the championship and rode that renewed sense of confidence all the way to the Final Four.

The year before, UConn had lost four of five to close the regular season. The Huskies, behind Kemba Walker, then five games in five days at MSG and then won six straight in the NCAAs to claim the school’s third national title.

Could the same thing be brewing with the Orange?

“I don’t think we believed it (before coming to New York City) like we do now, but we knew it was possible,” Carter-Williams said. “We just had to take it one game at a time. We knew Seton Hall was where we would have to get over the hump and start off on a positive note, and we brought the pressure to Pitt. And we knew Georgetown. That’s what we wanted—we wanted to face Georgetown again. I’m just happy we got the win.”

Syracuse was once in the mix for a No. 1 seed, but a nasty slump—the Orange lost four of five entering the Big East Tournament and was just 5-7 in the last dozen games—brought the possibility of a No. 5 or 6 seed into play. Now, a spot on the 4-line seems more likely. Coincidentally, Louisville made its Final Four run as a four seed last March.

“Our intensity wasn’t as high (during the slump) as it is now,” Carter-Williams said Friday night. “You look at us when we go back on defense, and we’re all slapping fives and screaming at each other in positive ways. I just think we’re a whole new team.”